A New Way To Life
by Rebex05
Summary: Charlotte lives a dark life with an abusive father. She never knew any different. Until she was rescued by a stranger after a wolf attack. Derek cares for her and she finds a new way to life. Roughly follows events of Teen Wolf. Trigger warning: Domestic Abuse. IRREGULAR UPDATES. UPDATE IN PROGRESS. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This is my first fanfiction and I would like to make HUGE shout out to my official unofficial Beta, Natalie aka asongofflame . I would also like to make a shout out to KeepCalmAndContinueBlissfully who wrote Finding Haven which has been my inspiration for finally starting a story! Please leave reviews so I know you're reading and what you do and don't enjoy!

 **Chapter 1**

It was a normal day. For her at least anyway. To anyone else it would be a disaster. But to her – to her it was just another day in her life. So far, anyway.

Charlotte Walker lived with her dad. Or her excuse for one anyway. Her father, Mr Walker, had a very violent temper. Especially when it came to her. Most fathers love their daughters and treat them like princesses. But hers – he treated her like his own personal punching bag. That's all she was him. A punching bag.

Her mom was never in her life. Her dad refuses to talk about her and if there's one thing she's learnt about her father; it's that you don't make him do something he doesn't want to do. Because he'll get pissed off. And him pissed off… well that's never a good thing. And she can't just leave him, because she's worried he'll come after her somehow. Anyway, she can't just involve someone else.

She isn't afraid to admit it – she's a loner. Charlotte has two good friends. Also, her only friends – Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski. Her friends don't know what goes on behind the closed doors of her house. No one does. It's easy enough to hide with the right clothing and sometimes makeup. They've never even been to her house. She tells them her father doesn't like visitors. Definitely not a lie.

Whilst she reflects, lying on her bed, she receives a text. _Meet me at Scott's – Stiles._ Of course, it doesn't matter to Stiles that it's 11 o'clock at night. But he knows she'll be there. She always is. She's perfected the art of slipping away without her father noticing. He won't notice. If he was going to bother her he would have done it earlier. Besides, she can hear his snoring across the hall.

She doesn't sneak out the way most teenagers do – out the window. She's on the second story of the house, with nothing good to grip onto by her window. Besides, it would agitate her already damaged body. Instead she relies on her stealthy feet to take her noiselessly through the house and out the front door. Once she's off the front porch, she bolts. She's free. Until morning anyway.

She arrives at Scott's house, just stepping onto his porch, when she hears two people screaming from the side of the house. Charlotte runs around the porch to discover Scott with a baseball bat, and Stiles hanging from the trellis.

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" Scott demands. He also glances to the side to see Charlotte standing there. "And why is Charlotte here?"

"Hey, I just got a text from Stiles saying to meet here. I'm just as in the dark here as you are." Charlotte reasons.

"You weren't answering your phone." Stiles justifies. "And why do you have a bat?" He questions.

"I thought you were a predator."

"A pre- what?" Stiles splutters, as he jumps down. "Look, I know it's late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave 20 minutes ago. Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even state police."

"For what?" Charlotte asks.

"Two joggers found a body in the woods."

"A dead body?" Scott questions.

"No, a body of water. Yes, dumb-ass, a dead body."

"You mean like, murdered?"

"Nobody knows yet. Just that it's a girl, probably in her 20's."

"Hold on, if they found the body, then what are we looking for?" Charlotte asks Stiles.

"That's the best part. They only found half. We're going."

"We're seriously doing this?" Scott asks Stiles and Charlotte.

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles answers.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott complains, as we walk through the woods.

"Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort." Charlotte replies.

"No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line." Scott tells us.

"Hey, that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one." Stiles retorts.

After a while of trekking through the woods, tripping on hidden branches and sliding on the slippery leaves, Scott's wheezing as a background sound, Charlotte speaks up.

"Hey, just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we Iooking for?"

"Huh! I didn't even think about that." Stiles tells us.

"And, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?"

"AIso, something I didn't think about." Stiles informs us.

Scott's wheezing sounds from behind Charlotte and Stiles.

"It's comforting to know you've planned this out Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Scott suggests, wheezing heavily.

"Wait, come on!" Stiles tells us sighting something ahead.

"Stiles!" Charlotte whisper-shouts.

"Wait up! Stiles! Stiles!" Scott shouts after him.

And suddenly we see what Stiles ran right into. The police search team. A team comprised of the Beacon department, state police, and barking police dogs. Stiles falls on his back, a viciously barking dog on his chest, whilst Scott and Charlotte hide behind a tree.

Above the noise of the dogs, a voice rings out. "Hold it right there! Hang on, hang on. This little delinquent belongs to me."

Stiles dad. Sheriff Stilinski. We are sooo busted.

"Dad, how are you doing?"

"So, do you listen to all my phone calls?"

"No." Stiles pauses. "Not the boring ones."

The sheriff sighs shaking his head.

"Now where are your usual partners in crime?"

"Who, Scott? Charlotte? They're at home. Their own homes that is. Not ours. They said they wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow. It's just me. In the woods. Alone."

 _Great job Stiles. Real convincing._ Charlotte thinks to herself.

"Scott, Charlotte, you out there? Scott? Charlotte?" The sheriff calls out. They remain silent hidden behind their tree, thunder sounding in the distance. The sheriff sighs.

"Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I are going to have a serious conversation about something called invasion of privacy."

Scott and Charlotte make a run for it in the opposite direction of the search, and where they thought they came from. Thunder crashes and they hear the chirping of crickets, the rustling of bird's wings. Scott slips into a ditch. They hear a nearby growling.

"Charlotte, run!" Scott screams at her.

She runs, hearing Scott screaming and then the sound of pounding feet in the opposite direction. Scott's okay and he's running. She only makes it a short distance before she too falls, tripped by a loose tree root. She hits her head. Everything seems to become fuzzy. She's dizzy. However, despite her apparent concussion, she can still make out a pair of blood red eyes. Alongside a distinctly canine body. Her mind moves slowly, but she thinks it looks like a wolf. But that can't be right. There aren't any wolves in California. Are there? As her cloudy mind contemplates this, the wolf-like creature lunges at her, giving her scratches and cuts all over her body. As if she didn't have enough injuries. Seemingly pleased by its work, the wolf-like creature bounds off. Just as she fades into unconsciousness, she feels her body being lifted.

 **Derek POV**

As he's out walking the woods, looking for signs of Laura, he hears a screaming in the distance. He also catches whiff of a smell. A metallic smell. Blood. He begins to run, part of him hoping it isn't Laura, the other part hoping it isn't someone else, who wouldn't be able to heal like they would. Following his noise, he catches sight of a brunette. She appears to be about 17, and obviously attacked. By the look of her cuts: long parallel lines, a werewolf did it. The Alpha. But there's something about her. Even the thought of what would happen if he left her, has his heartstrings being tugged. He didn't know they were still there. He seldom felt love. But it's obvious that he can't leave her there. He can't take her to a hospital either. They would ask too many questions. And… they wouldn't let him be with her… He decides to take her back to his place, to patch her up and keep an eye on her. He lifts her up, her weight feeling like nothing in his strong muscular arms.

Back at his place, he puts the girl in one of the only remaining habitable rooms: his. It's also _the_ most habitable room. So little of his family home, and his family, is left because it all burned down six years ago. Laura is really the only family he had left, so he couldn't lose her. Except, thanks to the Alpha, he suspected he had.

But right now, he had to look after this girl, whoever she is. He felt sorry for her, an innocent girl who got on the wrong side of the Alpha. He carefully lays her down on his makeshift bed of pillows and blankets, a sense of protectiveness coming over him. He takes her clothes off, leaving her in her bra and panties, but there's nothing sexual about it. If he's going to tend to her injuries, it's what he has to do. He takes note of her injuries; a cut and developing bump on the back of her head. Explains why she's unconscious. Bruising all over her body. Well who knows how much of a fight she put up against the Alpha. She also has scrapes on the right side of her body. Makes sense since she appears to have fallen. And then there's the destruction the Alpha left on her beautiful body. Marks left in groups of four short parallel lines all over her left arm, stomach and back.

Derek gets a damp clean cloth to wash over her body and to remove the dried blood with. He's angry at the Alpha now. Well, more so than he was before at least, anyway. How could someone tarnish such a beautiful girls' body? She was petite, with lovely long brown hair.

As he's washing her, he notices how tense her stomach is. He applies a gentle pressure to it, and hears her gasp and heart rate go up. She must also have internal bruising. He takes some of her pain, and feels how strong it is, confirming his thoughts. She's in a lot of pain. She also seems to be starting to shiver. _Of course she's cold! She's only in a bra and panties!_ How stupid of him!

Derek searches through his duffle bag, looking for something she could wear. He finds an old shirt and a pair of shorts. He'll have to go shopping soon to get bandages and clothes for her. He doesn't keep bandages since he doesn't have any use for them, so he'll have to get some for her.

He carefully dresses her and wraps her up in a blanket. He won't be able to go shopping until morning, so he lies down next to her and takes her pain.

Two days' pass. She stays unconscious as he changes her bandages and washes her, he coaxes her into drinking and eating soup. At least he got clothes for her, so she doesn't have to keep wearing his old ones. The last two days have been busy for him. Between caring for this girl, and keeping an eye on Scott, the new werewolf, Derek's been flat out.

Laura's gone. But there's nothing he can do about that now. Except keep others safe from the Alpha. Others like this girl.

As he's pondering this, he notices a change in her breathing. She must be waking up. He sits by her side, holding her hand and taking her pain, when she takes a deep breath and opens her eyes. Blue eyes are what he's met with. He'd wondered what colour her eyes were.

"Wher-where am I? Who-who are you?" Charlotte stutters out.

"I'm Derek Hale. I found you after you were attacked and brought you back to my place." Derek tells her softly. "Do you remember what happened?"

"The-there was a wolf!"

"OK. You hit your head pretty hard. You've been out for a couple days. Do you remember your name? Where you live?" Derek asked gently.

After asking her, Derek notices her heart rate pick up. She starts breathing heavily.

"How long have I been out for?" Charlotte asks.

"About 2 days" He replies

"Oh my god. No. I need to go. I have to get out of here." Charlotte says panicking.

"Whoa, whoa, it's ok. I'll take you home. It's alright." Derek tells her, soothing her and putting a hand on her arm comfortingly.

He holds her close to him, calming her down and rubbing her arm. "It's alright. It's ok." He soothes her.

"You didn't tell me. What's your name?" He gently asks.

"Charlotte" She sniffles into his shoulder.

"Charlotte" he says, trying it out. "You have a beautiful name Charlotte."

"Thanks." She hiccups.

He holds her for another moment when she says "I really need to go home. Now."

"Sure. What's your address?" He asks, and she tells him.

He stands up and holds a hand out to her. "C'mon. I'll take you."

 **Charlotte POV**

They pull up outside her house in Derek's Camaro.

"Wait!" Derek calls to her as she's about to get out. He reaches over and shuffles around in the glovebox pulling out a pen and a bit of paper. He scribbles something on it and hands it to her.

"My phone number." He explains to her. "If you need _anything_ call me. I don't care what time it is, or what you need. _Call me_." He tells her.

"Thank you" She whispers. "Goodbye, Derek."

She watches as he leaves. She doesn't need to see this. A few moments after his car disappeared from sight, she starts walking up the path. To the dreaded front door. To _him_.

As she walks in the front door she's hit with the stench of alcohol. _Great. He's been drinking. And a lot by the smell of it._ Charlotte thinks to herself. The next thing she sees is a fist coming towards her face. The mean right hook smashes into her cheek. She feels herself fall to the floor. "CHARLOTTE WALKER, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" Mr Walker screams at her.

"I – I'm sorry. I was -" Charlotte stuttered, trying to think of a way to explain to _him_ what had happened.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOUR REASON IS! YOU DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED FOR THIS YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He screamed at her.

He then started to kick her in the stomach. She had learnt enough by now to know she needed to curl up into a ball to protect her vital organs. She hadn't been able to do it the other day, but she did this whenever she could. It didn't stop him though. It never did. He just kept kicking her wherever he could. And he did. Everywhere. Including on her head, which was still tender from her concussion, as well as her gashes from that strange animal. _Derek,_ she thought as she continued to take the beating. _I need to call Derek._ As she thought this she heard a smash and felt glass rain over her. She didn't know what he broke, but she knew it was made of glass. She _felt_ it. She _felt_ the small shards make small and large incisions alike all over her body. _Oh god,_ she thought to herself, _it hurts. It hurts so much._ The stinging sensations over her body felt like fire. Just as she was wondering if she could take any more, she heard and _felt_ him leave. She could feel his presence leave the room.

She slowly and carefully, in _so_ much pain, picked herself up off the ground. _Derek,_ she thought to herself. _Derek said to call him if I needed anything. Well,_ she thought to herself. _If this doesn't count I don't know what does._ She slowly made her way up to her room, careful to try not to agitate any of her wounds. She finally made it there, and dug out the piece of paper she had stuffed in her pocket earlier, beginning to feel light-headed. She brushed the feeling off. She grabbed her phone and dialled. _Riiiing Riiiing, Riiiing Riiiing._

" _Hello?"_ She heard his deep voice answer.

"Derek."

" _Charlotte? What's wrong? What do you need?"_

"I need help. My-my dad he-he…"

" _Charlotte,_ _ **hold on**_ _. I'll be right there."_

"I-I don't feel so-so…" She says, fading into unconsciousness.

" _Charlotte? Charlotte!_ _ **Hold on**_ _! I'm coming! Charlotte!"_ Derek calls to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Author's Note:** Sorry I didn't update earlier, got caught up in school and life again! Again a big shout out to my wonderful Beta Natalie aka asongofflame and also to KeepCalmAndContinueBlissfully! You should totally check out her story Finding Haven! Also a big thanks you to everyone who has followed, favourited or reviewed! That's you **20sargeante** , **Arianna Ley Fay** (who was the first to favourite), **FallenWolves** , **SassyGrl23** , **Brookworm3** , **Hellawoez** , **StarSmoak** , **jazzyfizzle1410** , and a special thanks to my reviewers **Brookeworm3** and **FallenWolves**! Also I forgot to add a disclaimer last chapter, so here it is! I DO NOT own Teen Wolf! If I did, I would have a double bed already! Here's what you've all been waiting for!

 **Derek POV**

Charlotte's voice fades on the phone. She doesn't respond to him. He needs to get to her. _Fast_. Derek slams his foot on the accelerator. _What did she mean? Her dad? What did her dad do? Why?_

He pulls up outside her place, and as soon as he gets out of his Camaro is hit by the familiar smell of blood. _Her_ blood. Whatever happened here can't have been good. He doesn't even think of bothering with the front door. Charlotte's hurt, so he needs to get to her as soon as possible. Derek climbs the side of the house, where her blood smells strongest.

He climbs into a bedroom and sees Charlotte's bloody and beaten body. She's unconscious. _That's_ why she stopped answering. _"My-my dad he-he…"_ Derek recalls her saying. Her _dad_ did this to her. He listens carefully and hears another heartbeat in the house. _Him_. How could he do this to her? _This_ is why she was anxious about going home. It even made him wonder how many of the injuries she'd sustained were actually from the Alpha. Derek wanted to go down and beat that disgusting, vile, _man_ to a pulp. All these thoughts passed through his mind in a second. But he looked at Charlotte again, and _knew_ he couldn't do that. Not right now at least anyway. Because Charlotte needed him. She needed help.

Derek carefully picked up her frail, delicate body and went back out the window, wary not to jostle her body in any way. He gently placed her in the passenger seat of his Camaro so he could keep an eye on her, and got in. He slammed his foot on the accelerator again, being wary of his surroundings so as not to get into a crash. The last thing he needed was to injure her even _more_. Derek sped through the streets and quickly arrived at the hospital. He parked right outside the front door not caring about getting a ticket. He gently picked Charlotte up and ran inside. He immediately recognised Melissa, and while she may not know him, she knew _Charlotte_.

"Melissa!" Derek shouted at her.

"Oh my god! Charlotte?!"

"She's hurt! Her dad beat her up really badly!"

"WHAT? Bring her this way!"

Melissa led him to a small single hospital room and instructed him to put her on the bed, then paged a doctor. She begins examining Charlotte, cutting off her clothes to properly view her body. A doctor he doesn't recognise comes in and ushers Derek outside. 30 minutes later he sees Charlotte being wheeled out on the hospital bed.

"What -" Derek starts to ask, but Melissa cuts him off.

"X-rays." Is all she tells him.

An hour and thirty minutes later and Derek saw Charlotte being wheeled back into her room.

"Melissa! How is she?"

"Derek, right? I need you to tell me what happened and everything you know." Melissa told him.

"How is she?"

"I'm sorry, but because you're not family, I can't tell you anything unless you tell me what happened."

"I met Charlotte a few days ago. She got a concussion, some scratches and some bruising from an animal attack in the woods. Then again, maybe she had already had some of it. I looked after her for a couple of days. This afternoon I dropped her home and gave her my phone number if she needed anything. Twenty minutes later she called me and said she needed help. She started stuttering something about her dad, then said she didn't feel well. Then she stopped talking. I assume that's when she passed out. I got her out of the house and brought her straight here."

Derek hoped she wouldn't notice or at least would brush over some of the gaps in the story. Like why she would stay with someone she had just met, or how he got her out of the house. Thankfully she appeared to brush it off.

"I always suspected something went on at home with Charlotte, but I never thought it would be this. I'll have to call the Sheriff and let him know about this."

"Is she alright? How is she?"

"Technically, I'm not supposed to tell you, but I think given the circumstances, I will. She has a concussion, internal bruising on her abdomen - which will make her very sore when she wakes up - skin bruising all over her body, and scratches, cuts and gashes all over her body as well. Some of the scratches appeared to be from an animal – like you said – others we had to remove glass from."

"Can I see her?"

"I'm not supposed to, but given the circumstances and that she doesn't have any family, I'll let you."

"Thank you, Melissa. Really, thank you."

Derek walked into the single hospital room, and saw a black and blue Charlotte lying, unconscious on the bed. He pulled the single chair over to sit beside her and held her hand. As he does, he takes her pain and feels the strength of it. _No wonder she's out. It would be hard for her body to cope with this._ She's still going to be out for a while, so he goes and asks Melissa for a pen and paper so he can write down everything he told Melissa. Then he won't have to give his statement again when the Sheriff comes.

Just as he finished writing everything down, two boys run into the room. Scott, the new werewolf, and that scrawny hyperactive kid he hangs around with. Sties or something, was it? It doesn't matter.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Sties yells at him.

"Stiles!" Melissa whisper yells at him. _Oh well. I had it close._ "Derek is the one who brought Charlotte in. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't even know about her! So you lower your voice right now young man!" Melissa tells him.

Stiles glared at him, but he just smirked back at him.

"Derek?" The sheriff asks him just walking in. "Melissa tells me you brought Charlotte in. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Yes Sheriff. I have everything written down here." Derek tells him passing him the paper.

The Sheriff reads it nodding to himself. "Well that's all good. Now," he says getting his notebook and pen out. "Melissa. What are the injuries?"

"She was beaten up pretty bad, John. She has a mild concussion. From what Derek says, I would say she initially had a mild one, but it was made worse by… well… you know. Internal bruising – she's going to be sore when she wakes up – Some scratches that resemble claw marks, skin bruising all over her body, and small and large gashes all over her body. We had to remove a fair bit of glass."

The Sheriff cussed under his breath. "Sounds like she's a lucky girl."

"She really is John." Melissa said to him.

"Is she going to be alright?" Scott asked.

"She's going to be fine honey. She's just going to be sore when she wakes up." Melissa assures her son.

"Right, well I've got to go back to the station to do paperwork. Give me a call when she wakes." John told us.

"Will do, John." Melissa says.

The sheriff leaves, leaving Derek sitting holding Charlotte's hand and Scott and Stiles standing somewhat awkwardly near the door. Scott and Stiles end up bringing more chairs in, and sit by the end of the bed. The next several hours are filled with the boys talking, Derek holding Charlotte's hand and Melissa popping in from time to time. The boys grabbed food at some point, and although Melissa encouraged Derek to get some too, he refused to leave Charlotte's side. He couldn't leave her. This girl he barely even knew seemed to have some kind of strong hold on him, which was crazy since most of the time bar twenty minutes give or take that he knew her, she had been unconscious. But he couldn't stand the thought of leaving her side right now, even for a minute, as she was so fragile. After about eight hours of sitting, waiting, for _something, anything_ to happen Melissa came in and sat down.

"I have bad news I'm afraid." Melissa told us.

"What now? Charlotte's fine, isn't she?" Stiles asked.

"In a sense, yes, Charlotte's fine. I got a call from Sheriff Stilinski. They've searched everywhere. They can't find Charlotte's father."

Derek could feel his anger boil. That _bastard_ had escaped. He should have dealt with him when he had the chance. But when it came down to Charlotte's health and safety, or his punishment, there _was_ no choice. Because Charlotte came first. He was broken out of his thoughts when Melissa spoke again.

"Now obviously, Charlotte isn't going back to be with her father, so I think it's best if she comes home with Scott and I. We can -"

"No." Derek said.

"Excuse me?"

"Charlotte's going to stay with me." Derek told her.

"Um, I don't know who you think you are, because it's obvious that Charlotte is going home with either me or Sheriff Stilinski."

"No. Think about it Melissa. Really, it would make more sense for her to be with me. You and the Sheriff work full time; you're shift workers, you work all hours of the day and night."

"Um _no_ , _you_ think about it Derek. I'm a nurse and the Sheriff has first aid training. If something were to happen, we would be able to handle it better!"

"If something were to happen, you wouldn't _know_ , because you wouldn't be there!"

They were practically shouting at each other now, when Charlotte she started stirring and they noticed that her heart rate had gone up. She was waking up. Derek knew that her pain couldn't have eased that much so he took her hand and started to take her pain again.

"D-Derek." She mumbled.

"I'm here, Charlotte. I'm here."

"I'll stay with… Derek…"

Derek and Melissa looked at each other, Derek with a smug look on his face.

 **Charlotte POV**

As she drifted into consciousness, she became more and more aware of the pain she felt throughout her whole body. She also became aware of a pair of voices arguing nearby. One deep and masculine, another female and strained.

"…Charlotte is going home with either me or Sheriff Stilinski." The female voice said.

"No. Think about it Melissa. Really, it would make more sense for her to be with me. You and the Sheriff work full time; you're shift workers, you work all hours of the day and night." The deep, masculine voice said. So the other person was Melissa. She must be in hospital then. _Great._

"Um no, you think about it Derek. I'm a nurse and the Sheriff has first aid training. If something were to happen, we would be able to handle it better!" _Melissa. So it was Melissa and Derek._

"If something were to happen, you wouldn't know, because you wouldn't be there!"

It was time for her to wake up and announce her decision to everybody. Besides, all this yelling wasn't helping her head.

"D-Derek." She managed to mumble.

"I'm here, Charlotte. I'm here." She heard him whisper from next her. He held her hand a strange numbness swept through her body. It was bliss.

"I'll stay with… Derek…" She managed to mumble.

 **Author's Note:** Thank you so much for reading. Also sorry it's a shorter chapter; apparently when I made my storyline plan, I didn't moderate size very well, but it is a bit of a filler chapter and came purely from my own ingenuity, so I think I did pretty good! Please leave a review. _Anything_ is helpful,whether it be 'cool', 'I like it' or 'I didn't like …". Even more helpful is saying what you did or didn't like! I hope to update again next Wednesday because that's my birthday and I really want to update on my birthday! Wow, 17! I remember when it was oldest sisters 17th birthday! Your present to me can be a review! Pretty, pretty please? I got 2 reviews last chapter and I had about 50 people who read it so please? See you Wednesday!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Author's Note:** This chapter is now beta'd, my beta's email got cancelled for some reason, but we're working through that!Shout out to my awesome beta Natalie, aka asongofflame and also to KeepCalmAndContinueBlissfully and her stories Haven Bound and Finding Haven. Thanks to my new followers and favourite-ers **HenrietteOaks, Maxin, RinnaZevran1987, Stjarna22, Kat1894, QueenDisney201, Short But Deadly, Sallygirl2001, TeamCap93, kittkattt, missmoxley329,** **noemi-fin** , **CarleighAlpha, DarkMoonBitch, Kimberlydu31, LaxusKrum , fallenangel009, Greenj3llo85MichelleVents, and pinkshirt.** Special thanks to **SassyGrl23** for her review last chapter! Still don't have a double bed-still don't own Teen Wolf! Please review!

 **Charlotte POV**

They kept Charlotte in hospital another day for "observation". Derek rarely left her side. He only left for bathroom breaks and when Charlotte _insisted_ he get something to eat. He refused to leave even to sleep. He told her he was "quite content sleeping in a chair, in case Charlotte needs (him) for anything".

When Melissa said she was going to be very sore, she was _not_ kidding or exaggerating. Somehow, when Derek held her hand, the pain seemed to lessen. It was strange. But maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Derek seemed to have a better understanding of her and what she was capable of than anyone else. She never needed to ask him if he could do something for her, he just _did it_. He fed her when she didn't have the strength to raise her arm, adjusted the pillows when she needed it and just _sat_ with her when she needed quiet company.

Today was the day. Charlotte was being discharged. She was allowed to go home. Although home was a different place now. It wasn't the prison with her abusive father. It was with Derek who went above and beyond with caring for her.

"So Charlotte, are you ready to leave?" Melissa asked her.

"More than ready, Melissa. No offence, but this place sucks." Charlotte replied.

"Yeah it does. Ok, so here's your discharge summary, medications and some dressings. You need to clean, disinfect and change the dressings every day. Medication instructions are the boxes. Use hot and cold packs alternatively for the pain. Don't keep each on for longer than 15 minutes at a time."

"Thanks Melissa. I think I've got it."

Melissa turned to look at Derek. "Look after her." She said sternly, emphasising each word.

"I will Melissa. I'll bring her over if there's a problem or if I need to go and do something."

"Ok." Melissa said warily.

"See you later Melissa."

"Be careful sweetheart." Melissa told her giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Derek and Charlotte walked out of the room and the hospital. Derek supported her and held the bag full of her medications and whatnot, and walked with her, at _her_ pace. Who ever said chivalry is dead?

 **Derek POV**

Derek and Charlotte walked out. He made sure to carefully support her, while concealing taking her pain with his leather jacket. He made sure to walk slowly, no faster than she had set the pace at, and led her over to his Camaro. He got Scott to move it the other day for him. Yeah, he got _Scott_ to move _his Camaro_. Still, at least it wasn't towed.

He carefully eased Charlotte into the passenger seat of his car, then ran around the other side getting in.

"Hey, Charlotte?" Derek asked.

"Mm, yeah?" She replied somewhat drowsily.

"Umm, I need to get some furniture and groceries and stuff before we go back home. Are you alright with that?"

"Sure. Don't let me hold you back from whatever you need to do."

As they drove to the store Derek begins making a mental checklist of what he needed to get. A trailer, to transport everything, a bed frame, mattress… Before he knew it, they had reached the store.

"Charlotte? We're here." He said to her gently.

As he drove home, Derek thought of everything they had bought in an attempt to hopefully make the place more habitable. A whole bed set up, draws, mini-fridge, kettle, towels, food, the list went on. Previously Derek's living in the old Hale house had been more like camping. He looked over to the passenger seat to find Charlotte fast asleep.

Pulling up outside the house, the first thing Derek did was get the mattress in, as well as bedding and all the other things needed for him to make up a bed for Charlotte to sleep in. With the bed made up he gently picked up Charlotte's delicate body from the car and carried her inside to the awaiting bed in one of the spare rooms. He'd put the bed in one of the spare rooms for the time being, so he could set her room up without disturbing her.

With Charlotte safely tucked in, Derek went back outside to begin carting things inside. Once everything was brought in, he set about the task of building things since they had assembly required. The first thing he put together was the draws. He considered doing the bed frame first, but if he did that he would still have to bring the draws in afterwards – so he put the draws first. With those done and set up in the room, he moved onto the task of building the bed.

Building the bed wasn't hard – working out how to move the mattress Charlotte was sleeping on onto the bed, was another matter entirely. Eventually Derek decided to leave Charlotte - and the mattress – be for the time being while he went about putting everything else in its place. He was putting Charlotte's new clothes in the draws when he heard someone enter the room behind him. He turned around to see a drowsy Charlotte rubbing her eyes.

"Hey. You're up." Derek said to her softly.

"Yeah. I fell asleep in a car and woke up in a room I've never been in. You wouldn't have anything to do with that by any chance, would you?" Charlotte asked playfully.

"Who? Me? Never." He replied sarcastically.

"Mmhm. Looks like you were busy while I was out of it."

"Well as enchanting watching you sleep is, I figured I should actually achieve something unlike _you_ , Miss Sleeping Beauty."

Charlotte was silent for a moment and Derek wondered if he'd said something wrong or pushed her too far too soon in some way.

"Hey-" Derek started.

"Thank you." Charlotte said to him quietly, staring intensely at his hands. _Not my hands_. Derek realized. _Her clothes_. Derek looked up to find her looking around the room. _Her_ room, now. Looking back at her, he saw the tears beginning to build up in her eyes. Putting her clothes on top of the draws, Derek walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.

"It's alright." Derek whispered in her ear rubbing soothing circles on her back, as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It-it's j-just no one's e-ever done this for me. My-my father… He never did anything like this for me. I only ever got new things when I got them myself." Charlotte whispered sobbing.

"It's ok." Derek whispered to her. "You don't deserve anything less than this."

They stood like that for a while, Derek just holding Charlotte in his arms while she sobbed and hiccupped, letting her get it all out. Eventually the sobs and hiccups lessened until all that was left was Charlottes deep breathing. Derek slowly took half a step out from her.

"Are you alright now?" He asked her.

"I think so." She replied.

"How about while I bring the bed in, you go freshen up. Wash your face, maybe take a shower? It'll make you feel better." He said to her, pointing to the other door in the room.

"Ok." Charlotte said to him quietly.

"You don't have to worry. I'm always here for you, ok?"

"Ok. Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He watched her grab some clothes go and go into the bathroom, then heard running water. He never remembered being as grateful for his parents having their own generator and water system as he was now.

Derek thought about the situation he was in now, as he brought Charlotte's bed in. He wasn't stupid. He knew all these feelings and the protectiveness he had for Charlotte were very unlike him. He didn't know _why_ he felt like this, but he knew it was right. He knew that he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he hadn't helped Charlotte, first in the woods, then when she called, then again in the hospital and coming home. _Home._ It was a word he hadn't used for years because it was too painful to think of without all his family. Really, it should be even more painful now that Laura's gone, but for some reason at the same time, it was even easier now that Charlotte was here. The memories of his family and the hurt didn't go away, but at the same time it just… didn't hurt anymore. Because he had an angel to look after now.

Charlotte walked out of the en-suite in fresh clothes and sat down on the newly made bed in front of Derek.

"If you keep that expression much longer, you won't be able to get those wrinkles out." Charlotte said to Derek, gesturing to his forehead which was scrunched up in thought.

"Ha ha. I was just thinking about some things. But first, I think I owe you an explanation." Derek replied.

"What do mean? An explanation about what? You don't owe me anything."

"Some of the things you've seen. They won't make sense without an explanation. You know the day I found you?"

"Yeah." Charlotte said slowly, the gears in her mind desperately trying to turn and make sense of what, and _why_ Derek was telling her this.

"You said you thought you saw a wolf. You were partially right. I know this makes no sense and it's going to make me sound like a crazy person, but just bear with me, ok? There may not have been wolves in California for 60 years, but there's another species here that never left. Now think about it. Wolves will only ever attack if they're threatened, or on the brink of starving to death. The wolf you saw, it was neither, wasn't it? What is the only species in the world that attacks for no reason? Or that attacks for pleasure?" Derek asked Charlotte.

Charlotte thought for a moment, her mind only able to reach one conclusion. "Humans."

"Right. So what is something that looks like a wolf but behaves like a human? Something most consider a myth or legend?"

Derek could practically see the gears turning in her head, coming to a realization.

"Werewolves? You're trying to tell me that werewolves exist? They're real? There's one here? And it _attacked_ me?"

"Yes. But the thing you have to understand is that they're just people like you. Not all of them are bad. Some are good, like you. Others… they're not good. They're bad. Really bad."

"Wait. You said, 'they're just people like _you_ '. That infers that you're not one of those people. Are you-are you trying to tell me that you're-that _you're_ a- a _werewolf_?". Charlotte was on the edge of panic, her breathes starting to become sharp and uneven.

"Yes."

"No. They can't be. _You_ can't be. They're myths. Legends. Made up story to teach kids to be good."

"Charlotte," Derek said to her in his deep soothing voice. "That wolf that attacked you. Was it a myth? It had red eyes, didn't it? Since when do wolves have red eyes? Doesn't that tell you it wasn't normal?"

"If that's true, and you're _really_ a werewolf, then show me."

Derek carefully considered for a moment how to do that. He _could_ just fully 'wolf-out', but he didn't want to scare her. Being strong wouldn't be _particularly_ superhuman. Especially not these days. _My eyes_ , he decided. _I'll flash my eyes_. And he did. Just for a moment he allowed himself some slack on his self-control. Just enough, and just for a moment to allow his eyes to flash a piercing bright blue.

"Oh my god! How did you do that?" Charlotte asked on the verge of tears and panic

"Charlotte, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You know that, don't you? I want to help you. It's okay." Derek told her, soothing her with his melodic deep voice.

"Tell me about werewolves. What else can you do?"

"We don't usually turn into actual wolves. Only a very select few have that ability. Instead our facial appearance changes. Becomes more wolf-like. We're faster and stronger than humans. We have an accelerated healing ability. We can also take others pain. Look." Derek told Charlotte, rolling up the sleeve of his leather jacket. He gently grabbed hold of her hand and began taking her pain. The veins on his arm became more prominent, turning black while the exhaustion and pain Charlotte felt began to drain away.

"In the hospital-when you held my hand and the pain went away. That was you?" Charlotte asked, sounding slightly shocked.

"Yeah. It was."

"Why? Why me?"

"I don't know. There's something about you. From the very first moment I laid eyes you, there was something there. I don't know what it is, but I don't think I could have walked away and left you there even if I tried. And I couldn't leave you there after being attacked by the Alpha."

Charlotte blushed a faint pink which Derek thought made her look even more cuter. _Cuter? Even_ more _cuter? What am I thinking? I can't like her! I'm supposed to look after her! Not fall in love with her! Wait, love? Definitely NOT lo_ -

"The Alpha? What's that?" Charlotte said breaking Derek out of his thoughts.

"You know how the structure of wolf packs work? There's Omega's who are the outcasts. Wanderers. They travel and don't belong to a pack, they just go it solo. Then there's Beta's. They're all the wolves within a pack. And then the leader is the Alpha. They're in charge, keep everyone in-line. As for who the Alpha is… we don't know. Six years ago, most of this house burnt down with my family inside. This is the most habitable part. Back then, the Alpha was my mother, Thalia. When she died, the Alpha became her next surviving kin- Laura, my sister. Laura came back here because she was investigating a werewolf in Beacon Hills. Then she disappeared. I lost contact with her, which is why _I_ came back. They found her body a few days ago. She was cut in half." Derek told her, voice going sad telling her about Laura.

"I'm sorry." Charlotte told him.

"Don't be. There's nothing you could have done. And there isn't anything either of us can do now."

"That doesn't make it ok."

"No, it doesn't. But there's no point in me wasting energy over what-ifs. Laura wouldn't want that. She would want me to do something good. Protect and look after people."

They were silent for a few moments, thinking over the information about werewolves and Laura.

"The thing is, if Laura was killed by a human, the position of Alpha would automatically go to me as next of kin. But it hasn't. I'm still only a Beta. Which must mean this other werewolf Laura was looking for, killed her and became the Alpha."

Derek smelt a hint of fear in air and looked up to see Charlotte with a worried expression on her face.

"Don't worry about it though. You're safe. I'll look after you, I won't let anything happen to you. And if I'm not with you, I'll make sure Scott is."

"Scott? What do you mean Scott? How can he protect me?"

This time it was Derek's turn to blush.

"Umm… well see the thing is… Scott was kind of… well… bitten…"

"What do you mean _bitten_?"

"Well, that's another thing. There's two types of werewolves. Those that are born one, and those that are bitten. Scott was bitten by the Alpha. Which means now he's a werewolf."

"I thought he got away that night. I should have checked to make sure he got away." Charlotte spoke quietly and sadly with shame in her voice.

"Hey, what ifs don't matter. What matters now is that you're okay and that we can look after and protect you." Derek told Charlotte caringly. "Now, what do want to eat?"

 **Charlotte POV**

Derek revolved around Charlotte. He cared for her just like he did in the hospital. He always made sure she was well fed, had enough sleep and was on track for her healing. He always made sure there were painkillers available even though with Derek present there was pretty much no need for them.

Normally she hated physical contact because it was too much of a trigger for her, but she didn't mind it with Derek. In fact, she craved it and not just because he was a natural painkiller. Because now, with her father gone she felt free. She didn't have to worry about getting hurt by being close to someone.

Sometimes Derek helped Scott out with learning to control the change or fighting. Other times when Derek had to do something alone he would drop her off at Melissa's place with Scott. He made sure she was never alone though.

Charlotte stayed home for a day before she got bored of not doing anything productive. After a long negotiation with Derek about going back to school, she eventually won and came out on top. The conditions of her return to school were that she had to have Scott or at the _very_ least Stiles, whom for some reason he referred to as 'sties', in all of her classes. That was no problem because Scott was already in most of her classes as it was and for those few where he wasn't, Stiles was. Derek did give her some space to herself, however made sure she knew that he was there if she ever needed anything. They even had a system set up for emergencies where Charlotte would text Derek 'asap' along with her location if she needed him.

When Charlotte returned to school she soon made friends with the new girl, Alison, who was also the object of Scott's affection. Alison had been the 'new girl' plenty of times before as her dad often travelled so was used to being an outsider like Charlotte already was. Luckily for Alison this time though, she almost immediately made it into Lydia's 'clique'.

Despite being in different social circles, Charlotte and Alison quickly became close friends. Alison was one of the few people aside from Derek, the McCall's and the Stilinski's who knew about her past with her dad. Despite not having gone through what she had, Alison seemed to understand that she didn't want everyone treating her like a piece of glass or feeling pity for her.

Charlotte had even gone home with Alison one afternoon and had met her family. Her mother Victoria didn't seem very welcoming so she stayed cleared of her but her dad, Chris more than made up for it. He was very kind and friendly toward Charlotte and even pulled her aside to talk to her.

"Hey Charlotte. I just want you to know, I know what you went through and I completely understand not wanting pity or sympathy from anyone. But, for what it's worth, I'm here for you. Anything you need. You can consider me to be the dad you never had." Chris told her.

Charlotte's heart melted upon hearing those words and his offer, and she broke. She burst into tears and immediately Chris' arms were around her, encircling her. She cried into his shoulder and thanked him over and over again for his kindness and generosity.

She now had a mother in Melissa, a father in Chris, brothers in Scott and Stiles, a sister and best-friend in Alison, a guardian and protector in the Sheriff and Derek. She wasn't quite sure what Derek was to her yet, but she knew he was a vital part of her life and that she would probably be lost without him.

 **A/N:** I added a cover photo that has Derek and Charlotte on it, so check it out! Please review, they are appreciated and I take them into consideration with my writing.


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